New Ice Rink Coming to Bozeman

BOZEMAN -
Thanks to the efforts of the Gallatin Ice Foundation, Bozeman will soon get a new state of the art ice rink as construction started this week.

"The Gallatin Ice Foundation was founded as the fundraising arm for the Bozeman Amateur Hockey Association, the Bozeman Figure Skating Club just because we needed more ice time," said director of development, Chelsea Schmidt.

The new $4.5 million facility will be located on the Gallatin County Fairgrounds.

Schmidt said, "Behind me is the conclusion of step 1 which is erecting 36,000 square-foot steel structure that will eventually hold the refrigerated ice rink."

Currently the Haynes Pavilion houses Bozeman's ice rink, but Schmidt says the facility does not meet the need in Bozeman as far skating is concerned.

"It limits ice skaters' times to actually use the ice, programs can't grow, and people who want to get into the sport can't do it because we just don't have the capacity," said Schmidt.

Following the $1 million construction of the foundation, comes the $1.5 million step 2 of the project.

"Step 2 is what we are working on fundraising now which is going to be the actual skate-able ice, so the refrigeration, the ice and the mechanical room," Schmidt explained.

As for when you'll be able to take the ice?

Schmidt says, "We hope to get a lot of that money secured by April of 2015 so we can actually start working on that building and have skaters on that ice in the start of the Fall of 2015."

Temporary seating and locker rooms will be installed next fall. Permanent seating for up to 12,000 and locker rooms, which is the expensive part, coming in at around $2 million will be added once the facility is up and running, bringing in revenue.

To find out more about how you can help the Gallatin Ice Foundation visit their website.

Students with their whole lives ahead of them and the teachers who tried to protect them were among the 17 people killed when a gunman opened fire with an AR-15 at a large high school in south Florida.

Students with their whole lives ahead of them and the teachers who tried to protect them were among the 17 people killed when a gunman opened fire with an AR-15 at a large high school in south Florida.